The following application is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein: U.S. application Ser. No. 10/536,108 filed Jul. 13, 2006.
As computers become increasingly pervasive, the need increases for simple and effective ways to display and manipulate information. This need is exacerbated by the ever-increasing variety of types of information that are presented via computer. Such information types include still images, video information consisting of a series of frames of still images (e.g., a stored video clip, or each channel of a cable television stream of multiple channels), audio information consisting of a series of one or more distinct sounds (e.g., a song or a telephone conversation), textual information (e.g., text documents, World Wide Web pages, and email), and mixed-media information types (e.g., movies with both video and audio information).
Information is generally presented to a user as one or more groups of logically distinct related information, such as a still image, a frame of video information, a single sound or note of audio information, or a single multi-page text document. While logically distinct, such groups of related information may or may not be stored separately from other related groups of the information (e.g., a series of multiple frames of video information or of multiple sounds may be stored together).
Examples of various information types are shown in FIGS. 1A-1F. In particular, FIG. 1A is an example of a still image with content 110 displayed in window 100 (e.g., one of multiple windows in a graphical user interface (GUI) environment, or a single window covering the entire available display area). In addition, the content 110 displayed in FIG. 1A can be the first of three frames of an example animated video clip, shown in FIGS. 1A-1C with displayed content 110, 120, and 130 respectively. Visual representations of two distinct parts of an example stored audio clip are shown in FIGS. 1D and 1E, with the visual representations having displayed content 140 and 150 respectively that each correspond to a different set of groups of audio information. When the audio information is presented audibly via speakers of a computer, the visual representation may be displayed simultaneously, or the visual representation may instead be used in other situations such as when editing the audio information. The displayed content of the window in FIGS. 1D and 1E also includes a timeline 145 that has been dynamically added to the stored audio information. FIG. 1F is an example of textual information with displayed content 160 shown in window 100.
When information is displayed on a computer, one or more of a variety of types of displayed content manipulation controls are typically used to control what content is to be displayed and how that content is shown. FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate examples of various common content manipulation controls. In FIG. 2A, content group 110 is shown in window 100, along with various displayed content manipulation controls 205-245. Additional displayed content manipulation controls 250 are also shown in a separate window. Common content manipulation controls that can be used to affect the display of content group 110 include pull-down menus 210 (with various possible manipulation options), a pop-up menu 215 (with various possible manipulation options), and a text input-based zoom control 220.
In some situations, all of the content group is displayed at the same time. However, when only a portion of the currently displayed content group 110 is visible (e.g., a single page of a multi-page document), some environments provide controls to allow the user to select non-displayed portions of the content group for display. Such controls include slider control scroll bars 205 and page up and down buttons 207. Other environments may allow a user to anchor a displayed cursor 252 to the displayed content at a selected point, and to then drag the content group around the window so as to display non-visible portions of the current content group.
Drag control 225 and button control 230 can be used to manipulate the size of window 100. For example, selection of button control 230 may cause window 100 to be expanded to fill the entire visible area. In some situations, changing the size of the window may alter the portion of the content group 110 that is displayed (e.g., when shrinking the window, only part of the previously-visible content may remain visible), or may alter how the same portion of the content group is displayed (e.g., when shrinking the window, all of the previously visible content may be displayed at a reduced zoom level). In addition, some windows may include an additional button control (not shown) that, when selected, will close the window, while other windows may be closed in other ways such as selection of a menu option or toolbar button.
Content manipulation controls 235-250 may also be useful depending on the type of content displayed. For example, if content group 110 is multimedia information that includes accompanying audio information, button controls 235 can be used to control the volume at which the audio information is presented. For time-based information (e.g., video or audio information), button controls 240 can be used to control the particular portion of content to be displayed (e.g., a single video frame, or a collection of groups of audio information). Similarly, VCR-style button controls 250 may be used to control the particular portion of content displayed, as well as the rate at which time-based information is presented. Finally, if information content 110 is one of alternate groups of information available to be displayed (e.g., multiple channels of a cable television feed), controls 245 can be used to select a different group of content for display.
In FIG. 2B, textual information content 160 is shown in window 100 as part of a Web page document content group, along with various displayed content manipulation controls 255-275. In the illustrated embodiment, the Web page is part of a series of Web pages that have been previously viewed by the user, and button controls 255 can be used to move through this series of Web pages. Alternately, a button control such as 260 can be used to display a specific Web page, such as a user's Home page, while a text input control such as 265 allows the user to specify any particular Web page or other document for display. Button control 262 allows the user to specify a particular location in which to save a copy of the displayed page. Also available are four content-specific controls included with the content group. Controls 270 indicate two Web pages such that a user can choose one of the Web pages as a next document to display, while controls 275 allow a user to display previous or next portions of the current Web page document that are not currently displayed.
In FIG. 2C, textual information content 160 is shown in window 100 as part of an email message document content group, along with various displayed content manipulation controls 280-290. Email-specific portions of content are also displayed, including message header information 292 and included message information 294. The controls include button controls 280 to view related email documents, such as previous or next messages in a list of pending messages. Such a list can be organized in a variety of ways, such as by time received, by sender, or hierarchically as part of a message thread of related messages. Button controls 285 allow a user to create a new message that is part of the same message thread as the displayed message, while controls 290 modify how the email is stored by allowing the user to specify a new location in which the displayed message will be stored (e.g., a mail folder other than the Inbox) or to delete the message.
In addition to having a variety of displayed content manipulation controls, existing systems use a variety of techniques for selecting a content group that is to be displayed. FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate examples of common techniques for selecting a content group. In FIG. 3A, a window 300 with two panes 302 and 304 is displayed (e.g., in response to selection of a displayed “Open” button or pull-down menu item (not shown) in window 100). Pane 302 contains a visual representation 310 of a hierarchical directory storage mechanism in which a variety of document content groups may be stored. When a visual representation of a particular storage location 315 (e.g., a directory or folder) is selected, visual representations 320 of the documents and of the collections of documents that are associated with storage location 315 are displayed. Selection of a particular document content group in pane 304, such as document CDE-B-Z 325, can allow that document to be displayed or otherwise manipulated. Similarly, a window 350 in FIG. 3B displays a visual representation 360 of a hierarchical organization of email message content groups. In particular, the messages are organized into threads of related messages. When a particular message 365 is selected, that message can be displayed or otherwise manipulated.
With the large variety of types of content manipulation controls available, and with many of them dependent on factors such as the type of content or the particular content being displayed, the use of such controls to display information can be difficult for a user to master. In particular, novice users may find such controls impossible to understand and use. Thus, a need exists for a simple and efficient user interface for displaying various information types and for manipulating such displayed information.